Fruit fillings have traditionally been used as a component for bakery and pastry products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,151 issued July 11, 1972 (Scharschmidt) is an example of a disclosure of a fruit filling designed to be incorporated into a dough. The dough is then oven baked. The finished product is stored until ready for use, at which time it is placed in a toaster. A difficulty with such product is that its filler is not heat stable. If the pastry dough is not adequately sealed, the filler has a tendency to run out when heated thus playing havoc with the toaster, to say nothing of the loss of the filler. Such patent teaches the use of a combination of apple powder and invert syrup, which is a mixture of dextrose and fructose, but the proportions are low. Such patent also teaches the use of a high percentage of granular sugar.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,741 (Katz, et al.) teaches the production of a heat stable filling by production of a two-phase filling, that is, a disperse phase of relatively small fat globules suspended in a polar matrix composed of protein, water and a mono or disaccharide. Heat coagulable proteins, such as soy, and even gelatin are used as a heat stabilizing ingredient--such patent asserts having produced a filler that resists flow upon being heated. The process of preparation for such a filling requires the application of considerable external heat. For example, in a typical preparation, the mixture is heated to 110.degree. to 120.degree. F. The heat is probably necessary because such filling uses a considerable portion of fat in its preparation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,871 issued July 1, 1975 (Cooper) discloses that jelly can be produced by the use of a corn syrup having a high fructose content with substantially no other sugar present except that derived from corn syrup. The jellies are made from corn syrup containing at least 15 percent of high fructose corn syrup, a natural fruit flavor, pectin (or modified pectin) and an acidifying agent. Pectin is a gelling agent. In the examples, the ratio of high fructose corn syrup (71 percent solids) to pectin is as high as 59.2 (or more) to one.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,560 issued Feb. 18, 1975 (Menzi, et al.) teaches dietetic confectioneries that are prepared from an aqueous homogeneous paste prepared from a mixture containing at least one assimilable carbohydrate selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides and oligosaccharides (in a proportion of from 35 to 60 percent by weight), at least one assimilable protein material soluble or dispersible in an aqueous medium of a pH between 6.2 and 7.2 (in a proportion of between 1 to 45 percent by weight), at least one gelling agent which is a gelling protein and a gelling carbohydrate, and between 4 and 24 percent by weight of water. The gelling agent contains at least 70 percent by weight of non-assimilable material. The entire amount of the gelling agent in the entire quantity of the mixture is between 12 and 20 percent by weight. Menzi, et al., teaches the use of a high fructose corn syrup as the assimilable carbohydrate. In one embodiment, the mixture can contain 12 to 40 weight percent of the gelling agent and a powdery vegetable cellulose material, such as apple marc. In the examples, the paste (used for the dietetic confectioneries) has a maximum ratio of fructose (as a syrup containing 70 percent by weight of dry materials) to apple marc powder of 1.89 to 1. An important ingredient of the patent produce is a foamable protein, or else the mixture is preferably heated to 85.degree. to 100.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,611 issued Nov. 18, 1980 (Kahn, et al.) discloses one of the more recent products adapted for a wide variety of uses, including pastry filling. While such patent teaches a high fructose syrup and apples, it does not preclude the use of granular sugars or fat. The apples appear to be used solely as a fruit source. Starch is also an ingredient and the essence of the invention of such patent appears to be the production of a microbiologically stable food which can be kept at freezer or room temperature for extended periods. The application of heat is necessary in the preparation of such fillers.
The use of starch in fruit-containing products such as fillings and confections is well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,055, issued Jan. 28, 1986 to Moore, describes a process which comprises heating and extruding a mixture of sugar, water, and about 12 to 20 weight percent of a cold water swelling starch having an especially high gel strength. The starch is gelatinized as the mixture passes through the extruder, which subjects the mixture to heat and shear under high pressure. Optional ingredients include colors, flavors, fruit purees, juice concentrates, and acidulants. The relatively high level of the cold water swelling, high gel strength starch is employed to give the mixture a sufficiently-high viscosity for forming at the moisture level of the confection. This high level of starch also contributes to a final product texture which is firm, but more resilient than the traditional Mogul system gel confection.
Another Moore patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,293, issued Nov. 3, 1987, which is incorporated by reference, discloses a process for preparing a gel confection comprising: (a) heating a first component comprising sugar, water, and a first gelling agent under conditions which activate the first gelling agent; (b) preparing a second component comprising a second gelling agent, characterized in that it is an instant starch capable of hydrating in room temperature water, under conditions which prevent activation of the second gelling agent; (c) mixing the first component and the second component under conditions which activate the second gelling agent and to produce a mixture comprising about 40 to 80 weight percent sugar, about 10 to 50 weight percent water, about 1 to 20 weight percent of the first gelling agent, and about 1 to 10 weight percent of the second gelling agent; (d) obtaining the desired mixture viscosity for forming; and (e) forming the mixture into the desired shape. Each of the gelling agents may be starches. The first gelling agent may be any type of starch capable of thickening or gelling. The second gelling agent is an "instant" starch, either a pregelatinized starch or a cold water swelling granular starch. Various fruit components were described as optional ingredients.